Google Ditches Gems for Skills in Gemini, Starting November 17
Google is retiring its Gems feature in Gemini, which allows users to save and reuse custom instructions. From November 17, 2026, all Gems will be automatically converted to skills, a new type of functionality that requires the Keep Activity setting and is limited to users over 18. This change affects personal accounts, with Workspace business, enterprise, and non-profit accounts following in March 2027, and education accounts in June 2027.
Google claims that users will not need to take any action, as their Gems will be automatically transitioned to skills along with supported files. However, the company advises downloading knowledge files from Gems before the conversion takes place. Users can also manually recreate their Gems as skills now if they prefer.
The way skills are used is different from Gems, requiring users to type a slash in the chat and select a skill rather than opening it from the sidebar. Skills can also be combined, according to 9to5Google. However, the availability of skills in Europe by the deadline is unclear, as a test with a free account in Germany on September 29 found that typing a slash in the chat opened no menu.